This is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. It involves distance coverage and the use of time. There are various modes of transport depending on the means of transport being used which include water, air, road, space, pipeline, and rail (Bardi, Coyle and Novack, 2006). Various factors have been urged out to govern transportation which is prioritized differently depending on whoever is applying them. From my point of view the order of priority of the factors is as follows:
- Safety (for people, cargo, and the leadership needed at all government levels)
- Infrastructure (of roads, rail, bridges, highways, seaports, airports, pipelines)
- Emergencies ( from terrorist attacks or natural disasters)
- Finance ( needs and requirements) {lecture notes}
- Energy and Environment (balance)
- Human and Intellectual Capital (investments or lack thereof)
- Institutions (of today in conflict with requirements)
- Equity (of transport burdens on the disadvantaged)
- Congestion (across all transport modes)
Transportation involves the movement of people and goods, therefore for any mode of transport to take place, the safety of the people plus the goods being ferried and also that of government officials should be given priority, this is so to avoid or reduce the various accidents that lead to human loss, property destruction, and any other form of inconvenience that may result due to neglect of safety. For this to be achieved security should be beefed up to control the movement of the vehicles also to provide security to the people (lecture notes).
Infrastructure includes roads, railways, waterways, airways, canals, pipelines, terminals like airports, warehouses, bus stations, railway stations, trucking termi, nails, and refueling depots like fuels stations and seaports (Bardi, Coyle and Novack, 2006). Their conditions need priority so as to deal with avoidable accidents like those caused by the presence of the potholes, poor street lighting, collisions at terminus among others. Emergencies like terrorist attacks and natural disasters such as earthquakes can cause massive deaths. Measures to curb these emergencies like putting up fire extinguishers and exits, good infrastructure for fast movement of the saving gears, and disaster preparedness need to be highly addressed.
People’s needs and requirements are of high importance mostly to avoid cases of starvation hence the need for their provision. This should so happen because everyone has the right access to basic needs which are essential for one’s survival. For continued agricultural activities, there is a need to balance energy and the environment. This helps reduce the causes of global warming and also release of hazardous gases like carbon dioxide that pollute the environment thus contaminating the gases we humans inhale hence the need for a balance between the energy and environment.
For any developed country or developing country to prosper there is a need for good infrastructure that gives room for investment. This helps much in boosting the country’s economy both locally and globally thus fitting in the existing world economies. Today’s institutions instill students with knowledge not relevant to the contemporary world due to the continued use of the same old syllabus hence the need to convey information of importance to the current society.
For infrastructure development there is need in equity in terms of restructuring them both in rural and urban areas. This should so happen to promote development in both the areas, to avoid marginalization and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Congestion of vehicles should be worked upon to ease transport and reduce the waste of the most prestigious resource time that is less valued yet very important.
References
Bardi, J.E; Coyle, J.J; and Novack, A.R. (2006). Management of Transportation. New York Thomson South – Western.